


The Crossroads

by kdsmtty



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: AU game of thrones, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:27:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22636750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kdsmtty/pseuds/kdsmtty
Summary: When at the crossroads, Arya decides to go to King's Landing instead of home to Winterfell. Her decision changes everyone's future. The story is cannon up until the crossroads, but after that the story diverts from cannon.
Relationships: Arya Stark & Bran Stark, Arya Stark & Sansa Stark, Arya Stark/Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow & Arya Stark, Jon Snow & Daenerys Targaryen
Comments: 17
Kudos: 182





	1. Left or Right

**Author's Note:**

> I am writing other stories at the moment, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone so I decided to go ahead and post it. I can't promise speedy updates, but I can promise that I will finish this story and my other ones.

After hearing Hot Pie say her brother and sister were at Winterfell, Arya had no idea which way to go. She sat at the crossroads and looked both ways. The path to the left would lead her to Cersei and the Mountain. Her list has been everything to her for the last several years, and she can almost taste her revenge. She looks to the right, which would lead her to Jon and Sansa. It has been years since she has seen either of them and the thought is tempting. The only thing keeping her from the path on the right is her fear. 

There have been two other times in her short life that she got her hopes up of seeing her family, only to be too late both times. The first time she was with the Hound trying to reach her mother and brother Robb, and arrived only minutes too late to see them. The second time was also with the Hound, and they found out that her aunt had died not too long before they reached her as well. Her fear is that she will jinx them to the same fate as her other relatives. She can never make it quite in time, but she can finish off getting revenge for her family. 

The only way to make sure her family is safe is to bring an end to Cersei Lannister and the Mountain. After looking longingly at the path on the right for several minutes, she pulls her horse to the left and taps the horse with her heels to gallop onward. She keeps the horse going at a fast pace for most of the day, afraid she would turn around and head home if given the chance. When the light starts to fade from the sky, she starts looking for a place to make camp for the night. After finding a small stream, she quickly gathers wood for a fire and places her blankets on the ground for a place to sleep.

After watering the horse, eating, and saying the names on her list, she allows her eyes to close in an effort to get some sleep. Of course, her mind has other plans. The only thoughts going through her mind is that she made a mistake, she should have gone home to see her family. The last time she saw Jon, he had given her needle. She was so young then and he wasn’t much more than a boy himself. Sansa and her may have always had problems getting along, but she still loved her. She hates remembering the last time she saw her sister. Hates remembering her father’s last day alive. The way people treated him so poorly by yelling at him, and throwing food at him. She hated Sansa for a long time for not doing anything to prevent her father’s death, she was so much closer than her. After a while, she remembered how Sansa fainted after it happened. Then she realized that Sansa had honestly thought he wasn’t going to die that day.

They were both too young and totally unprepared for how people were in King’s Landing. How can you spot liars and see the worst in people when you were raised with honor and loyalty? Sansa has probably been through a lot, just like her. If she was to see them again, would they be completely different people just like she was? Would they accept her for who she has become? Probably not. She has always been the odd one no matter where she has gone. The more she thinks about it, the more she realizes that that’s alright because she got to become the person she always wanted to be.

Since she was a little girl, she always refused to be a lady. She hated sewing and dresses, but loved sword fighting, archery, and pants. Her father was the one she always wanted to be like, and now she feels as though she is with a few exceptions. Would her parents be proud of her? Probably not her mother but she feels like her father would be. Okay, her mother would probably be proud of her too. She survived years on her own as a small child, and is currently getting revenge for her mother’s death, her father’s death, and her brother’s death. After finishing the list, she will have to find out what happened to Bran and Rickon and possibly start a new list.

She slowly drifts off to sleep thinking about her two little brothers, her older brother, and her sister. While asleep, Arya has a dream that she is farther north. Running on four legs, she is trying to get home as quick as she can. There is snow all around her and the cold seems to warm her on the inside. She stops to try to figure out where she is, but there are no markings anywhere. Then she hears howling in the distance, like her siblings are calling to her to come home. She takes a step forward but halts when she feels something directly behind her. A growl falls from her mouth as she slowly turns around, but nothing is there. That’s when she feels the air pick up, and realizes whatever it is, it’s above her. She jerks her head upwards to see a black dragon in the sky looking down at her. 

Her first instinct is to cower away, but she refuses to show fear in the face of this beautiful creature. For as long as she can remember, she has always been fascinated with dragons and their fierce riders. Taking in the beautiful sight, she locks eyes with the dragon and they both stare each other down for some time before the dragon starts to fly away. She tries to yell for the dragon to come back, but all that comes out of her mouth is a pitiful whining sound. Angry that the dragon left her behind, she quickly takes off trying to follow it but she quickly loses sight of where it was going. Disappointed, she lays down in the snow and closes her eyes trying to remember every aspect of the beautiful dragon.

Arya wakes up with the first light in the sky, and quickly prepares her things to continue her journey to King’s Landing. After the dream last night, she needs to put as much distance between herself and Winterfell as possible. She distracts herself by thinking about the dragon from her dream. The dragon was a dark black and huge. Everything about the animal was special, but the dragon’s eyes were especially. She could feel how intelligent the animal was just staring each other down. It felt as though the dragon had peered into her soul, and she also looked into its’ soul. 

The dream had felt so real, but there’s no way it could have been. Arya pushes the thoughts away and quickly hops onto her horse to continue on her way to King’s landing. If she keeps up a decent pace, she should be able to make it less than a fortnight. Maybe about half of a fortnight if she doesn’t stop very often. The less time spent on the road, the better. She wants to put an end to her list, and then return to see her family. There’s finally something waiting for her at the end of her revenge, hope. 


	2. Death is Marching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya takes a break from her travels, but learns there is more at stake then she originally believed.

Arya spent the next five days riding long and hard, barely stopping to sleep let alone rest. At the end of the fifth night she decided to stop at an inn to give herself and her horse some much needed rest. She had been to the inn once before when she first made her way to King’s Landing and she remembered the inn wasn’t anything special. The inn did offer a barn with hay, feed, and water for her horse and a room with a bed, food, and ale for her. She made quick work of dropping her horse off in the barn to the young boy working the stable and paid him a bit extra to take care of the exhausted horse.

Once her horse was taken care of, she quickly made her way to the door of the tavern pulling it open and taking a step inside. Her hand stayed atop the hilt of her sword while she took in her surroundings. There were mostly drunkards inside, but she spotted a few Lannister guards towards the back of the tavern. She spotted a table with a view of both the door, and the guards that would keep her back to the wall, so she quickly made her way to the table and took a seat.

A woman a few years older than Arya came over to her table. “What can I get you?” 

Arya looked the girl over before responding. “I need a room for the night, a chicken, and keep the ale coming. Get a chicken for yourself too.” Arya pulled out her money purse and put more than enough into the girl’s hand.

The girl smiled shyly at Arya and took off to get her things. A moment later she brought a mug of ale, and her chicken along with her room key for the night. “The room is at the top of the stairs, first door on the right. If you have need of anything, just let me know.” 

Arya chugged down her mug of ale and started devouring the chicken while the girl talked. “More ale.” Arya grunted out in between bites of food. The girl smiled at her and took off to grab more ale. Within a few minutes, she brought out a pitcher full of ale and refilled Arya’s mug. Once she was done, she placed the pitcher on the table, gave Arya a small smile, and left her to finish her meal. 

Arya picked up her mug and took several large gulps before resuming eating the chicken. Once the chicken was gone, she wiped her mouth off on the sleeve of her shirt while refilling her ale with the other arm. Now that she was sated, she drank the ale slower and listened in to the conversations going on around her.

Some of the drunkards were already passed out with their heads on the table, others were slurring their words talking about nothing of importance, and others were loudly singing. The Lannister guards were singing along with the drunkards and seemed to be minding their own business. They weren’t the worst Lannister guards she has encountered in an inn. Two men towards the farthest wall caught her attention though. Both men were dressed in Northern clothes which is unusual for this far South. 

She’s too far away to hear what they’re saying so she decides to play the role. She refills her mug and takes the pitcher with her to the men’s table. While walking over she makes sure she sways and stumbles with a huge smile on her face. “Randal! When did you get back from the North?” Arya refills both men’s mugs and then sits at their table. She looks up to meet their eyes and then loses the smile. “Oh, I thought you were my friend Randal.” She gives them a sheepish smile then adds, “Do you mind if I sit here?”

Both men quickly shake their heads with a smile on their face. The younger man answers, “We don’t mind at all. Been riding for the last fortnight and he can be terrible company. My name is Ben, and this here is Jake.” The young man offers happily.

Arya takes a drink of her ale before she replies with a smile, “My name is Jeyne. A fortnight is a long time to ride. Where are you coming from? The North?” Arya asks shyly. 

“Aye. We left Winterfell as soon as we heard the news. The King of the North says death is marchin on the wall. When we heard that, well, we knew either he was mad or he was tellin the truth. Either way we wanted to get as far South as South goes. Figure we might even try to cross the sea to get away.” He replies in a low voice.

Arya immediately freezes as she hears the boy’s words. Jon would not lie about something like that. If he says death is marching on the walls, then death is marching on the walls. “The King of the North? Who is the King of the North?” Arya asks calmly. 

Both men look at one another and Jake answers this time. “The bastard Jon Snow.” Arya buys herself some time from responding by drinking more of her ale. 

She starts laughing loudly before she gasps out, “The dead are marching on the wall. He must be mad. That is a story told to children.” The men start laughing with her. They share idol chatter for a while more before she bides them farewell saying she has an early morning. Arya goes up the stairs to her room and the dread finally hits her. White walkers are real, and they are coming for us all. There is no doubt in her mind that her big brother is telling the truth. She knows they will need her for the war to come, but they will also need men to fight the white walkers. A lot of men.

Arya gets into the bed while her mind is racing trying to figure out her plan. The North alone won’t be able to defeat what lays beyond the wall if the stories she was told when younger were even partly true. To control the rest of the realm, she will need to kill Cersei Lannister and wear her face. The quicker she can take control, the quicker she can help protect her family, home, and people. She closes her eyes to get the rest she needs to carry out her plans, but before she goes to sleep, she whispers the names of the last two people on her list. 


End file.
